Vend Update – August

Well since our public launch we have been pretty busy responding to all the awesome feedback we have been getting. Firstly a huge “Thank you!” to all the retailers who have joined Vend in the last 3 weeks. We have been overwhelmed by the response. If it takes a day for us to come back to your enquiries, and we sound half asleep, we are slowly catching up 🙂 We seem to be creating a very positive stir out there.

So not only have we been flat out responding to interest in Vend, but we have also been busy responding to feedback and adding some new features.

There have been a few updates to Vend over the last couple of weeks so here is a run down on what is new.

Xero Integration

Our full Xero integration is now live. This lets you seamlessly post your sales data and invoices through to Xero, and import customers from Xero. Here is a quick video on how you can setup your Vend account to work with Xero.

Offline Enhancements

The Vend “Sell” screen is now available 100% online and off. Previously, while on the Sell screen and your internet connection dropped out, Vend would keep on processing sales. However, if your browser was closed while you are offline, you could not open the Sell page again. Well the Sell page now can be launched while offline from a bookmark, or a saved link if you are using the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer.

iPad improvements

There have been a few tweaks to the iPad version to prevent the onscreen keyboard from always being visible. It now rolls out only when you need to search for a product, or enter payment amounts. It also runs completely offline, so you can take Vend on the move on the iPad without needing a Wifi or mobile data connection.

Laybys

Vend now supports laybys in the Sell screen. You simply create and apply a new customer to a sale, then click Pay > Layby. You will be asked for a note for the sale, and then Vend will print out a Layby receipt detailing any payments and the amount left owing.

Your current laybys can be viewed on the “History” screen.

Improved Stock Control Input

When creating a stock order, transfer or stock take, you can now use a barcode scanner to input the products. This is particularly handy if you are using one of many new wireless Bluetooth barcode scanners available now. For example, for stack-taking, you can simply create a new stocktake, and then take the portable Bluetooth scanner with you as you count stock.

New user types

There are now three user types in Vend.

Admin – This type of account has full access to all of vend features, setup, reports and screens.

Manager – Can create sales, view reports, create customers, manage the product catalogue and stock. If you have multiple stores, then you can assign a manager to one particular store.

Cashier – This user can only create sales, create and view customers and view the product catalogue and stock levels.

Managers and Cashiers can also be applied to a particular outlet, if you have more than one, and so can only see reports, and sales for their particular outlet.

New report – Product sales by outlet

This new report gives you a full itemised account of each product sold at each outlet over any date range. It also gives you sales, tax, cost and revenue values for these sales.

There have been a raft of other changes, improvements and bug fixes also.

If you have any ideas for our future releases then we would like to hear from you.

Vaughan is the Founder of Vend. A moustachioed entrepreneur and technologist, Vaughan's goal is to make retailers' lives easier. When he's not leading the team, Vaughan is running marathons and raising his kids. Connect with Vaughan on Google+.